Brazil’s Votorantim warned by antitrust body on cement

05 August 2010

Brazilian industrial conglomerate Votorantim Group was warned Wednesday by the country’s antitrust council, known as Cade, that its interests in Brazil’s cement sector may be rising to unacceptable levels, Estado news agency said.

Cade’s legal office, or Procade, issued Votorantim with a document advising the industrial group to reverse the recent purchase by cement company Polimix Concreto, in which it has a minority stake, of Rio de Janeiro-based cement maker Cimento Tupi, Estado said.

Votorantim already controls 40 per cent of the Brazilian cement market and further advances in this sector may be unacceptable, Estado cited Procade’s lawyer Gilvandro Araujo as saying.

Polimix’s purchase of Cimento Tupi can gain Cade’s approval only if Votorantim sells its stake of around 25 per cent in Polimix, Estado cited Araujo as saying.